In recent years, AUDI has launched, with support from international development organizations, the following projects that are intended to address priority issues in Arab cities:
City Development Strategy (CDS) | Child Protection Initiative (CPI) | Privatization of Municipal Services | Application of Urban Indicators | Population Dynamics and Poverty Reduction
City Development Strategy (CDS)
As part of the Arab Urban Development Institute’s AUDI's efforts to strengthen the capacity of Arab cities and municipalities in the Middle East and North African region(MENA), with regard to Urban Development, AUDI, the World Bank, Cities Alliance and other partners have established a regional City Development Strategies (CDSs) Facility within AUDI to assist MENA cities strategize for their medium-and long-term development.
A CDS is a vehicle for building a Vision for a city or economic region, a Strategy for its implementation and an Implementation Plan for its realization.
The objective of the CDS is to assist cities reach a shared vision for their future and local priorities for action to reduce urban poverty, upgrade squatter settlements, improvement of infrastructures, support good governance and facilitate local economic development processes. In doing so, it helps cities work more effectively with civil societies and donor partners to improve their contribution to national development.
So far the cities of Aden, Alexandria, Amman, Al-Madinah Al-Munawara have benefited from that assistance. Sana'a, Tafila, Irbid and Zarqa will follow suit soon.
For more information about the project please Visit the CDS website
Child Protection Initiative (CPI)
The Child Protection Initiative (CPI) was established in response to a recommendation made at the December 2002 “Children and the City” Amman conference for ‘building the capacities of municipal authorities, and establishing of a regional fund that called to respond rapidly to the risks faced by vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the MENA region’. The CPI, which was launched in September 2003, is supported by the World Bank and AUDI which is hosting its secretariat in Riyadh. The Secretariat conducts the CPI activities under the guidance of an Advisory Group and a Technical Committee composed of representatives of donors, MENA mayors, childhood councils, NGOs and experts.
The CPI aims to upgrade the capacities of local authorities and municipalities so as to improve the well being of children, especially vulnerable and disadvantaged ones, and to enhance knowledge of effective policies and programs. That aim is expected to be fulfilled through:
- Building a knowledge base on the main issues that face children in the MENA region, and deriving lessons and best practices from research and relevant programs.
- Capacity building of local authorities to enable them addresses such issues with efficiency.
- Assist in mobilizing resources and in establishing a flexible funding mechanism, to be funded by donors, to enable dealing with risks that face children at the local level.
For more information about the project please Visit the CPI website
Privatization OF municipal services in secondary Arab cities
AUDI initiated this program in collaboration with the World Bank with the aim of assisting Arab cities privatize some of their municipal services, e.g. solid waste management, collection of revenues, etc. It is implemented in three phases.
Phase I: AUDI and the World Bank jointly prepared a project document for this phase and submitted to the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA). The proposed project, with the approval of MOMRA, was implemented in the cities of Burida, Hasa, Tabuk, Dammam and Jeddah.
Phase II: The program aims to cover the cities of Aleppo in Syria, Karak in Jordan and Saida in Lebanon Once the required funds have been secured.
Phase III: AUDI and the World Bank intend to apply the program in low- income secondary cities of, such as those in Yemen and Sudan.
Application of Urban Indicators
AUDI conducted two training workshops on Urban Indicators and Observatories during 2000 in Manama and Amman, which attracted around 100 participants from several Arab countries. AUDI also provided technical assistance in preparing preliminary studies for establishing and operating national observatories in Saudi Arabia and in Sudan.
AUDI assisted also in the establishment and operation of Local Urban Observatories in:
- Al-Madinah Al-Munawara established in cooperation with UNDP, the observatory is now fully operational and is considered to be a best practice both regional and globally.
- Riyadh: In cooperation with the Supreme Commission for Riyadh Development Authority AUDI prepared a study for the establishment and operation of a Local Urban Observatory for Riyadh.
- Khartoum and Wad Madani: AUDI provided technical assistance for the establishment of Local Urban Observatories in Khartoum, and the city of Wad Madani in central Sudan. This was conducted in cooperation with the Global Urban Observatory.
- Kark: AUDI provided technical assistance for the municipal council of Kark city, Jordan.
- Aden: Together with the World Bank, AUDI studied the constitutional capacities for development of urban indicators program and the establishment of a local urban observatory network, for Aden city, Yemen. This was conducted within the preparatory phase for the urban development strategies of Aden as part of Yemen- World Bank's program for the development of Yemeni port cities.
Population Dynamics and Poverty Reduction
The Population Dynamics and Poverty Reduction (PDPR) project, Financed by a grant from UNFPA, the PDPR is intended to assess the extent, features, and causes of urban poverty in the region, particularly as they relate to population explosion and rural-to-urban migrations. It is also intended to review the strategies and best practices adopted by local authorities to address population dynamics and urban poverty. Furthermore, the project is intended to build local government capacities in order to integrate population dynamics and poverty reduction strategies within their local development strategies.